Black+Decker

Black+Decker is an American manufacturer of power tools, accessories, hardware, home improvement products, home appliances, and fastening systems, headquartered in Towson, Maryland, north of Baltimore, where the company was originally established in 1910. In March 2010, Black & Decker merged with Stanley Works to become Stanley Black & Decker.^[3][4] It remains a wholly owned subsidiary of that company.

Black+Decker

Logo since 2014
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Manufacturing
Founded	September 1910; 114 years ago (1910-09) (as "The Black & Decker Manufacturing Company") in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Founders	S. Duncan Black Alonzo G. Decker
Headquarters	701 East Joppa Road[1] Towson, Maryland , U.S.
Key people	Nolan D. Archibald (CEO)
Products	Power tools hardware home improvement products fastening technology
Revenue	$11.41 billion (FY2016)[2]
Net income	$965.3 million (FY2016)[2]
Number of employees	27,000
Parent	Stanley Black & Decker
Website	blackanddecker.com

A Black & Decker cordless drill

History

A 1920 ad for portable electric drills

1910–1974

• 1910 – "The Black & Decker Manufacturing Company" was founded by S. Duncan Black (1883–1951) and Alonzo G. Decker (1884–1956) as a small machine shop in Baltimore in September. Decker, who had only a seventh grade education, had met Black in 1906, when they were both 23-year-old workers at the Rowland Telegraph Company. With only $1,200 between them, one of their first jobs was designing machinery for making milk bottle caps and candy dipping.^[5]
• 1912 – The Black and Decker "Hexagon" logo symbol was introduced, symbolizing the head of a hexagonal bolt found in machine shops. It was used in one form or another from 1912 to 2014.^[6]
• 1917 – Black & Decker invented and patented the hand-held electric drill with a pistol grip and trigger switch.^[3][7]
  • –– For many decades the director of design was Glenn Calvin Wilhide, a friend of Walter Gropius and other industrial designers of the day. Wilhide filed many US patents for Black & Decker.
• 1917 – The first factory was opened in Towson, Maryland.
• 1919 – Company reaches $1,000,000 in sales.
• 1928 – Acquired the Van Dorn Electric Tool Company of Cleveland, Ohio.
• 1936 – Common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
• 1941 August – Wilhide's patent for a portable power driven tool unit granted.^[8]
• 1943 – Received the Army-Navy "E" Award for production, one of four World War II (1939/1941-1945) citations awarded to the company.
• 1949 – First Black & Decker U.S. trademark awarded.
• 1951 – Alonzo G. Decker Sr. becomes president
• 1960 – Acquired DeWalt from American Machine and Foundry.

1975–2008

• 1975 – Francis P. Lucier succeeded son of one of the founders Alonzo G. Decker Jr.(1908-2002), as chairman of the board, the first time a family member did not hold the post.
• 1984 – Acquired small-appliance business from General Electric Company.
• 1986 – Nolan D. Archibald is named chief executive officer.
• 1989 – Acquired the Emhart Corporation^[9] which includes the brand names Kwikset, Price Pfister faucets, Molly wall anchors, POP rivets, True Temper (both hardware and sports equipment) and other consumer and commercial products. Inducted into the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame for its cordless power tool achievements and contributions to NASA's Gemini and Apollo programs.
• 1990 – True Temper hardware is sold to Huffy, and then sold to US Industries, owner of Ames, which later became Ames True Temper, which is now owned by Griffon Corporation.
• 1996 – Sold small-appliance business to Windmere Durable Holdings.^[10] In May 2000, Windmere Durable Holdings changes its corporate name to Applica Inc.^[11]
• 2000 – Alonzo G. Decker Jr. resigns from the board, at age 92, two years before his death.^[12]

2009–present

• 2010 – Black & Decker merges with Stanley Works to become Stanley Black & Decker.^[13]
• 2012 – Stanley Black & Decker sells its Hardware and Home Improvement group (HHI) to Spectrum Brands. Sale includes the lock business, as well as the related manufacturing subsidirary in Taiwan (Tong Lung).^[14] As of January 2023^[update], Spectrum was in negotiations to sell its HHI assets to Swedish lock manufacturer Assa Abloy, but were making adjustments in response to the United States Department of Justice findings of antitrust issues.^[15]
• 2014 – Rebranded from Black & Decker to Black+Decker^[16]
• 2017 – Stanley Black & Decker purchases Craftsman from Sears (Sears, Roebuck & Company).^[17]
• 2017 – Stovekraft entered a licensing agreement with Black+Decker to sell the latter's products in the Indian market.^[18][19]

Brand portfolio

Recent

As of 2017, Stanley Black & Decker's brand portfolio included:^[20]

• STANLEY (formerly known as The Stanley Works; started in 1843 as Stanley's Bolt Manufactory by Frederick Trent Stanley, and merged in 1920 with the Stanley Rule and Level Company founded by Henry Stanley in 1857)

• Aero Scout
• Black+Decker
• Bostitch
• Craftsman
• DeWalt
• Facom, Mac Tools, Proto
• Inner Space
• Irwin
• Lenox
• Piranha
• Porter-Cable
• Sonitrol
• STANLEY Access Technologies
• STANLEY Engineered Fastening
• STANLEY Healthcare
• STANLEY Infrastructure
• STANLEY Security
• Vidmar

Former

• Baldwin (sold to Spectrum Brands)
• Delta Machinery (sold to Chang Type Industrial)
• DeVilbiss Air Power (sold to MAT Holdings)
• Kwikset (sold to Spectrum Brands)
• Price Pfister (sold to Spectrum Brands)
• Weiser Lock^[21] (sold to Spectrum Brands)

References

1. "Stanley Black & Decker Opens Makerspace in Towson". April 16, 2018.
2. Black & Decker annual income sheet via Wikinvest
3. Michael J. de la Merced; Zachery Kouwe (November 2, 2009). "Stanley and Black & Decker in a Merger Deal: Toolmaker Deal Ends a 28-Year Courtship". The New York Times.
4. "Stanley and Black & Decker Complete Merger" (Press release). Stanley Black & Decker. March 12, 2010. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
5. Somerville, Sean (January 5, 1997). "Alonzo G. Decker: He's still a company man Founder's son: Alonzo G. Decker Jr., son of one of the founders of Black & Decker, helped spark the do-it-yourself movement. As he approaches his 89th birthday, he maintains his connection to the family business". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
6. "Black & Decker 100-year anniversary site". blackanddecker100years.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
7. , "Electrically-driven tool.", issued 1914-12-04
8. , "Design for a portable power driven tool unit", issued 1940-09-28
9. "Emhart Corporation Records". archives.lib.uconn.edu. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
10. Murray, Shanon D. (May 12, 1998). "Black & Decker selling division Windmere buying household products unit for $315 million". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
11. Altaner, David (May 10, 2000). "It's Gone with the Windmere". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
12. Kelly, Jaques; Frederick N Rasmussen (March 23, 2002). "Alonzo G. Decker Jr., 94; Engineer, Power Tool Innovator". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
13. "Stanley And Black & Decker Complete Merger". The Street. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012.
14. "Spectrum Brands Holdings Completes Acquisition of Stanley Black & Decker's Hardware & Home Improvement Group". Spectrum Brands. December 17, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
15. "Spectrum Brands: HHI Likely To Close, Shares Have 65% Upside (NYSE:SPB) | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. December 2, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
16. "Black & Decker becomes Black+Decker". January 14, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
17. "Sears sells iconic Craftsman brand for $900 million". Retrieved January 5, 2017.
18. Bhushan, Ratna. "Black & Decker inks licensing deal with Stovekraft". The Economic Times. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
19. Mukherjee, Writankar. "Stovekraft expand into premium small appliances with Black + Decker". The Economic Times. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
20. "Our Brands". stanleyblackanddecker.com. March 15, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
21. "Weiser Lock - Keyless Entry - Door Hardware - Smart Locks". ca.weiserlock.com.

Further reading

• Black & Decker^[usurped], 1989 Competition Commission report

External links

• Official website